All Week Long
Today, President Preckwinkle joined the Cook County Justice Advisory Council (JAC) to announce an additional $10 million in grants to community-based service providers as part of the County’s Gun Violence Prevention and Reduction Grant initiative. The initiative was developed as a direct response to the increased levels of gun violence experienced since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This investment represents our ongoing commitment to addressing gun violence at the community level,” said Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. “These grants will come alongside the significant investments in violence prevention that Cook County and our State and City partners have already made to address the drivers of gun violence and help make our communities safer. This collaborative work is critical to maximize the impact of these investments and plan for the future.”
Originally published on chicagodefender.com 05/30/23
Last week, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle applauded the Illinois General Assembly on its recent passing of fiscally responsible and sustainable pension reform legislation to ensure the County can fully fund its pension obligations.
“This is a financially prudent step toward confronting our pension challenges,” said President Preckwinkle. “I am very proud of our work over the last several years to increase funding by billions of dollars and this legislation will build on this progress. This all speaks to a stronger, more stable Cook County. I appreciate the hard work of our finance team, Senator Martwick and Representatives Evans and Burke.”
As soon as LaVonte Stewart starts talking to the young people in Lost Boyz Inc. about upcoming outings to the Forest Preserves of Cook County, he sees the excitement on the faces of the boys and girls served by his nonprofit group.
“Getting out of their neighborhood to do something is encouraging to them, being outside of their comfort zone and seeing that Chicago is a huge city and that you can have all this green space inside of an urban jungle,” says Stewart, the founder and executive director of Lost Boyz Inc. “You can find all this serenity and these spaces for peace.”
Lost Boyz Inc. provides sports-based development for youth from South Shore, Pilsen and other under-resourced neighborhoods in Chicago, as well as opportunities for civic engagement and recreation. The Forest Preserves Nature Express Bus program has become a valuable resource to this small organization.
“The Nature Express Bus is another way we work to help even more people get out to enjoy all the Forest Preserves offers,” says Jacqui Ulrich, the director of the Forest Preserves Department of Conservation and Experiential Programming. “For community groups and nonprofits that have limited resources, it’s a free trip to our special events and locations.”
By working with the Forest Preserves on transportation, Lost Boyz Inc. has taken youth to the Preserves’ annual Kids’ Fest at Wampum Lake and zip lining at the Go Ape Zipline and Adventure Course in Bemis Woods. These outings have helped kids learn about nature, meet other kids outside their immediate communities, and simply broadened their horizons.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the vaccines currently available in the United States are more than 90% effective at preventing COVID-19. Getting vaccinated will protect yourself and those around you and will help keep your community healthy.
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